The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante with psychic powers. One of the most famous pulp heroes of the 20th century, The Shadow has been featured in comic books, comic strips, television, video games, and at least five motion pictures. The radio drama is well-remembered for those episodes voiced by Orson Welles.
The Shadow began airing over the new Mutual Broadcasting System on September 26, 1937. Thus began the "official" radio drama that many Shadow fans know and love, with 22-year-old Orson Welles starring as Lamont Cranston, a "wealthy young man about town." Once The Shadow joined Mutual as a half-hour series on Sunday evenings, the program did not leave the air until December 26, 1954.
Welles did not speak the signature line of "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" Instead, Readick did, using a water glass next to his mouth for the echo effect. The famous catch phrase was accompanied by the strains of an excerpt from Opus 31 of the Camille Saint-Saëns classical composition, Le Rouet d'Omphale.
After Welles departed the show in 1938, Bill Johnstone was chosen to replace him and voiced the character for five seasons. Following Johnstone's departure, The Shadow was portrayed by such actors as Bret Morrison (the longest tenure, with 10 years in two separate runs), John Archer, and Steve Courtleigh.
The Shadow also inspired another radio hit, The Whistler, whose protagonist likewise knows "many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak."
Deathhouse Rescue
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.09.26
Murder By The Dead
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.10.17
The Temple Bells Of Neban
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.10.24
The Three Ghosts
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.10.31
The Creeper
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.11.28
The Death Triangle
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.12.12
The Voice Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1937.12.26
The League Of Terror
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.01.09
Sabotage
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.01.16
The Society Of The Living Dead
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.01.23
Poison Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.01.30
The Phantom Voice
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.02.06
House Of Horror
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.02.13
Hounds In The Hills
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.02.20
The Plot Murder
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.02.27
The Bride Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.03.06
Silent Avenger
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.03.13
The White Legion
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.03.20
The Power Of The Mind
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.04.24
The White God
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.05.01
The Hypnotized Audience
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.06.05
Death From The Deep
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.06.12
The Firebug
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.06.19
Blind Beggar Dies
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.06.26
The Power Of The Mind
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.07.03
White God
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.07.10
Aboard The Steamship Amazon
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.07.17
Murders In Wax
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.07.24
Message From The Hills
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.07.31
The Creeper
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.08.07
The Tenor With The Broken Voice
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.08.14
Murder On Approval
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.08.21
The Tomb Of Terror
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.08.28
Death Under The Chapel
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.09.04
Caverns Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.09.11
Traffic In Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.09.25
The Black Abbot
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.10.02
Death Stalks The Shadow
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.10.09
Night Without End
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.10.16
Gun Island
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.10.23
The Isle Of Fear
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.10.30
Shyster Payoff
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.11.06
Black Rock
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.11.13
Death Is Blind
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.11.20
Murder In E Flat
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.12.04
Guest Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1938.12.18
The Man Who Murdered Time
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.01.01
Island Of The Devil
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.01.08
Ghosts Can Kill
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.01.15
Valley Of The Living Dead
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.01.22
Prelude To Terror
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.01.29
The Ghost Of Captain Bayloe
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.02.05
Hypnotic Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.02.12
Friend Of Darkness
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.02.19
Horror In Wax
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.02.26
Appointment With Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.03.12
Can The Dead Talk
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.03.19
Dead Men Talk
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.09.24
The Night Marauder
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.10.01
House Of Fun
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.10.22
Phantom Fingerprints
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.10.29
The Mansion Of Madness
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.11.05
Inventor Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.11.12
The Shadow Returns
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.11.19
The Sandhog Murders
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.11.26
Death Shows The Way
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.12.03
The Flight Of The Vulture
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.12.10
Murder Incorporated
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.12.17
Stockings Were Hung
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.12.24
The Cat That Killed
Original Broadcast Date: 1939.12.31
Murder In The Death House
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.01.07
The Precipice Called Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.01.21
The Return Of Carnation Charlie
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.02.04
Death Is An Art
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.02.11
Death On The Bridge
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.03.03
The Laughing Corpse
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.03.10
Murderers Vanity
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.03.17
The Plot That Failed
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.03.24
Ghost Town
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.10.05
The Isle Of The Living Dead
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.10.13
The Oracle Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.10.20
The Mark Of The Black Widow
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.10.27
Carnival Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.11.10
House Of Horror
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.11.17
The Green Man
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.11.24
The Curse Of Shiva
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.12.01
The Voice Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.12.08
The Killers Rendezvous
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.12.15
Joeys Christmas
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.12.22
The Ghost Of The Stair
Original Broadcast Date: 1940.12.29
The Leopard Strikes
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.01.05
The Ghost Building
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.01.12
The Shadow Challenged
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.01.19
The Ghost Of Caleb Mackenzie
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.01.26
Nightmare At Gaelsberry
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.02.02
The Man Who Lived Twice
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.02.09
The Phantom Voyage
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.02.16
Chess Club Murders
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.02.23
Death Rides A Broomstick
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.03.02
Murder Underground
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.03.09
The Ghost Walks Again
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.03.16
Death Prowls At Night
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.03.23
Voodoo
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.03.30
Death On The Rails
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.04.13
The Hoodoo Ship
Original Broadcast Date: 1941.10.19
Death Speaks Twice
Original Broadcast Date: 1942.02.15
Altar Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1942.03.15
The Terror Of Madmans Deep
Original Broadcast Date: 1942.10.24
Death Keeps A Deadline
Original Broadcast Date: 1942.11.01
The Wailing Corpse
Original Broadcast Date: 1942.11.08
Death Shoots An Arrow
Original Broadcast Date: 1942.12.06
Touch Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1943.02.28
The Gibbering Thing
Original Broadcast Date: 1943.09.26
The Crystal Globe
Original Broadcast Date: 1943.10.03
Out Of This World
Original Broadcast Date: 1945.01.21
The Ghost Without A Face
Original Broadcast Date: 1945.02.11
Brief Fame Of John Copper
Original Broadcast Date: 1945.03.11
Destroyer
Original Broadcast Date: 1945.03.25
The Little Man Who Wasnt There
Original Broadcast Date: 1945.04.08
Curse Of The Cat
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.01.20
Etched With Acid
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.03.17
The Walking Corpse
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.03.24
Mind Over Murder
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.03.31
The Unburied Dead
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.04.14
The Gorilla Man
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.04.21
The Dreams Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.04.28
They Kill With A Silver Hatchet
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.05.26
Death In A Minor Key
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.06.02
The Valley Of Living Terror
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.10.13
Blood Money
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.10.20
Makeup For Murder
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.12.01
Devil Takes A Wife
Original Broadcast Date: 1946.12.08
The Werewolf Of Hamilton Mansion
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.01.05
The Cat And The Killer
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.01.12
The Scent Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.02.02
The Shadows Revenge
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.05.11
Death Rides High
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.05.18
The Spider Boy
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.06.01
The Phantom Of The Lighthouse
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.09.07
When The Grave Is Open
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.09.14
The Face
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.09.21
Death Takes The Wheel
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.09.28
The Curse Of The Gypsies
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.10.05
The Ruby Of Karavahl
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.10.19
Death Has Eight Arms
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.11.02
The Comic Strip Killer
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.11.23
Murder And The Medium
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.11.30
A Gift Of Murder
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.12.21
The Terrible Legend Of Crownshield Castle
Original Broadcast Date: 1947.12.28
The Chill Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.01.04
The Bones Of The Dragon
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.01.11
Death And The Black Fedora
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.01.18
The House That Death Built
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.01.25
The Thing In The Cage
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.02.08
Nursery Rhyme
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.02.22
The Man Who Was Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.02.29
Stake Out
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.03.14
Death Coils To Strike
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.03.21
Death And The Easter Bonnet
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.03.28
Legend Of The Living Swamp
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.05.02
Reflection Of Death
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.05.09
The Giant Of Madras
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.05.16
Revenge Is Murder
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.09.19
Death Is A Colored Dream
Original Broadcast Date: 1948.09.26
Unto Death Do Us Part
Original Broadcast Date: 1949.03.06
Death In The Deep
Original Broadcast Date: 1954.03.28
Vengeance Of Angel Nolan
Original Broadcast Date: 1954.06.27
The Computer Calculates But The Shadow Knows
Original Broadcast Date: 19xx.xx.xx